Started playing the piano in early childhood, Akiko made her solo debut in 1976 with “JAPANESE GIRL” which she recorded in LA with Lowell George and other members of Little Feat. With its creative sound that fused Japanese scales, folk songs, instruments with the pop, rock, jazz and contemporary music, it had a huge impact on the music scene at the time and Akikograbbed the music fans’ attentioninstantaneously, as it was said “Here comes a genius girl”. In 1979-1980, Akiko accompanied Yellow Magic Orchestra a.k.a. YMO (Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono & Yukihiro Takahashi)on two world tours as a support member. Since then, she has been working with a wide range of musicians from jazz/rock to classical music, such as Pat Metheny, Thomas Dolby, The Chieftains, Toninho Horta, and Marc Ribot, to name a few. She recorded and toured with Anthony Jackson (b) and Cliff Almond (drs) as a trio. The duo with the electronica prodigy, late Rei Harakami and the piano duo with Hiromi showed us her free, unique, and highly skilled artistry. The most recent achievement is the piano duet album with Hiromi “Step Into Paradise – LIVE IN TOKYO-“ won the 39th Japan Gold Disc Award 2024.